12 Malaysians still in Iran, Wisma Putra monitoring closely
SEPANG: At least 12 Malaysians are still in Iran and are being closely monitored by Malaysian authorities following the successful evacuation of its citizens and their dependents over the weekend.
Malaysian Ambassador to Iran Khairi Omar, who led the evacuation mission, said the remaining individuals include students and Malaysians married to Iranian nationals, currently residing in various parts of the country including Tehran and Shiraz.
"We are keeping track of their whereabouts and ensuring they are safe.
"Should the situation permit and they choose to leave, we will assist them," he said during a press conference at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) late Sunday night.
Khairi had accompanied 24 evacuees, comprising 17 Malaysians, six Iranian dependents, and a Singaporean, who arrived safely in Kuala Lumpur after a gruelling 1,000km overland journey from Tehran to the Turkmenistan border.
He said the group spent the night at the border before flying out of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and transiting in Thailand en route to Malaysia.
"We were on the road for over 24 hours. It was a long and challenging journey, but Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly," he said.
Khairi said they decided to use an eastern land route was made to avoid areas of conflict in the west, following heightened tensions due to Israeli strikes on Iranian targets.
This, he said, as the evacuation involved multiple checkpoints and long delays due to the high number of foreign nationals also attempting to leave the country, but praised the cooperation from the Iranian and Turkmen authorities in facilitating the border crossing.
He added that communication with Malaysians in Iran remained difficult, with roaming services restricted and messaging apps like WhatsApp heavily affected during the conflict.